Today we conclude our series of messages called "Tapping into God's Power."God has given us a purpose to live for and a power to live on. We've been talking about God's power to live on. One of the most essential ways we tap into God's power is through prayer. We've talked about confession, things that stop up God's ears, solitude, and the praying church. By the way, thanks to all of you who participated in our evening prayer times this week. We experienced some powerful praying.

Today we're going to wrap this study up by talking about the faith factor. There are many things about God, the Bible, and the Christian life that I confess I don't fully understand. I understand prayer; but I don't understand prayer. And I know you have the same questions I have. Does God answer every prayer? If God knows everything that's going to happen before it happens, what is the use of praying? How many times should I pray for something? Does praying for something multiple times demonstrate a lack of faith on my part? Is it okay to beg God for stuff?

These questions can be baffling. One of our students a few weeks ago raised this question. "Pastor Ken said that we can't connect to God whenever there is unconfessed sin in our lives. I know that I'm living in disobedience to God. But I prayed for something and it happened. How do you explain that?”

There is much about prayer that is a mystery. One thing is certain, however. The Bible talks a lot about the role of faith in our prayers. It says that if we have faith, we can move mountains. If we have faith, God will answer every prayer. It says that without faith it is impossible to please God. Jesus often rebuked His disciples for their lack of faith. It says that if we have faith, we can witness even greater miracles than Jesus did.

So, obviously, prayer and faith go hand in hand. But then it gets confusing again. We've all had the experience of praying for something, really having faith God was going to answer. But it didn't happen. You prayed for someone's salvation. But he died without Christ. You prayed for someone to be healed. But her conditioned worsened. You prayed for that dream job you interviewed for. But the company hired someone else. You prayed that a certain college would accept you. Instead, you got rejected. You prayed that a relationship with a special person would lead to marriage. But he dumped you. You prayed that your marriage would be healed. And now you are divorced.

Be honest. How many of you have struggled with these questions about prayer? I know I have. I think we all know how important faith is. But sometimes our faith can be shaken whenever we pray with faith about something and yet things don't turn out like we hoped for.

Now that I've built up your interest, some of you are thinking, "Finally, our pastor's going to clear up all these questions."I hate to disappoint you. I wish I knew all the answers to these questions. But I don't. But what I am going to encourage you to do today is to not let these struggles keep you from praying with great faith. Don't let these issues make you cynical about prayer. Jesus invites us on many occasions to pray. And He talks frequently about how we need to have faith when we pray.

Let me set the context for our verses today. Jesus on Sunday rode on a donkey into Jerusalem beginning what would be the final week of His earthly ministry. He would die the following Friday. On Monday morning He and the disciples left Bethany, where they had spent the night, and returned to Jerusalem. On the way, they came across a fig tree that had no fruit on it. Jesus pronounced a curse on the tree and they travelled on. When they arrived in Jerusalem, they went to the Temple where Jesus created a scene by overturning all the tables of the moneychangers and prevented the merchandisers from coming through. The crowd loved it—all but the religious leaders. They put their murder plans in overdrive.

That evening they left Jerusalem to return to Bethany. The next morning they passed the fig tree that Jesus had cursed the previous day. It had withered. We pick up there with our text. Read along with me. [Read Mark 11:20-25.]

I don't have time to go into great detail. But let me quickly explain the issue of the cursed fig tree. Why would Jesus get upset at a fig tree for not having fruit when it wasn't even the time of the year for fruit to be on the tree? He was teaching them a very important lesson. The experience at the Temple was certainly still fresh on their minds. The fig tree serves as a symbol of the Temple. Although Jesus helped people understand that prayer could be prayed any time and any place, the Temple was still the place where people went to pray. But the Temple had become corrupt with all of those who turned it into a money-making mockery of God.

So, the Temple was much like the withered tree. It had lost its vitality. It had lost sight of its purpose. It wasn't bearing fruit. And Jesus was teaching them that they didn't have to have the Temple to pray. They could talk to God any time they wanted to and anywhere they wanted to. After Peter pointed out the withered tree, the first words out of Jesus' mouth were, "Have faith in God."Then He talks to them about prayer.

Notice how many times Jesus alludes to faith in this story: "have faith in God,""does not doubt in his heart,""but believes,""believe."So, even though we may have many questions about prayer, two things are certain: Jesus invites us to pray, and when we pray we must have faith.

Notice the promise that is attached to verse 23: "it will be done for him."Notice the promise attached to verse 24: "it will be yours."What do these promises tell us? Let me tell you first what they aren't telling us. They are not teaching us that prayer is like a Vegas slot machine. Insert your prayer/coin, pull the handle, and out come all these blessings. Nor are these promises giving credence to the name-it, claim-it theology being preached by many TV preachers. What do you want? Just name it and you can claim it because God will give it to you. God never designed prayer as a way to manipulate Him to do stuff for you.

What do the promises tell us? They tell us that God wants you to have faith to do big things for Him. He wants you to trust Him with the big stuff in your life. He wants you to bring your requests to Him. And He wants you to have the faith in Him that He is listening and that He will respond to your prayers.

So what can we learn about the faith factor through these verses? Is there anything here at all that might clear up some of the confusion and mystery about prayer? Is there something here that could prompt you and encourage you to go to God with your concerns and requests? This passage is loaded with applications. Let me highlight three.

First, we must approach God with a surrendered heart. We're often subconsciously guilty of trying to impose our will on God. "Okay, God, here's what I need. Go for it. And deliver as quickly as you can."True prayer is opening our lives to God's will. True prayer is not trying to get God to change His will but an endeavor to release His will in our lives.

If you look out your lake view window and notice that your John boat has come loose from the dock and is floating out in the middle of the cove, all you need to do is to tie a rope onto the boat and stand on the dock. As you pull the rope, what happens? Does the dock go out to the boat? Or does the boat come into the dock? With prayer, we are seeking to draw ourselves to God and not trying to pull God down to us.

Prayer is not really prayer unless it is accompanied by a heart that is completely surrendered to God. You may be living a life of rebellion and disobedience. And things may happen that you believe is God's direct response to your prayers. But the promises about answered prayer that we learn about in the Bible apply only to those who are completely surrendered to Christ. We pour our hearts out to God, we pray specifically about our concerns, and we have great faith that God is capable of answering. But at the same time, we submit to His lordship and say, "God, more than anything else, I want your will to be accomplished. Not my will but Your will be done.”

Second, we must approach God with confidence. But remember, prayer is not a magical wand that you wave that allows you to get whatever you want. Having faith to move mountains doesn't mean that I can walk up to this piano and with great faith say, "Piano and organ, swap positions with each other."Ain't going to happen.

At the same time I believe we often sell God short of what He wants to do. I think we need to ask with boldness. And I think we need to ask for specific things. It was about this time last year that Kenny taught me an important lesson about prayer. Our church was in the stages of searching for a new worship pastor. I had talked with a bunch of guys on the phone and interviewed several. The search team was engaged in the process.

From the outset, I was drawn to a guy from California named Michael Cathey. In my heart I knew he was a guy who could take our church to new levels of encountering Christ in worship. But we were in the holding pattern because Michael had other interviews lined up (with much larger churches than ours).

Anyway, Kenny and I were talking about it one day. I was trying to play a solid biblical approach by saying, "God's will works both ways. It's in Michael's lap now. We'll just have to wait and see."Kenny said, "Dad, you need to pray with some boldness. If you think Michael's your man, that's how you need to pray."I said, "Kenny, I'm not into that name-it-claim-it way of praying."But he challenged me.

And I recalled Mark 11:24, "Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."Hmmm. Believe that you might receive it? No. Believe that you will receive it? No. It says, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. It's like saying, "God I know you can do it; I know you will do it; but in my heart I'm going to assume it's already done."Now that's faith.

And from that day on, the direction of my prayers changed. "God, I believe Michael's our man. And I'm going to pray that all of these other job openings one way or the other won't work out and that he and Karin will say yes to Chapin."I prayed that with great boldness and faith. At the same time I prayed, "But God, you know best. If he's not your man for us, that's fine. I surrender my will to your will….But I want him here."We waited and waited and finally the search team said, "We've at least got to have a backup plan."We did. But we never had to go far into the backup plan because Michael said yes. Don't be afraid to pray with boldness and confidence.

Quickly, number three, we must pray with a forgiving spirit. Verse 26 makes this very clear. It's interesting that he tied forgiving others to effectiveness in prayer. If you're holding resentment in your heart toward someone, you may as well forget having a full signal with God. You've got to do everything you can to get that relationship problem fixed before your prayers are going to get anywhere. I don't care how much faith you have. Bitterness toward another person renders void any level of faith you may have.

What issues are you talking to God about right now? How are you praying? Is it about finances, marriage, a difficult teenager, a job interview, a dating relationship, a medical condition, a confrontation, or a major decision? Are you praying with a surrendered heart? Are you praying with boldness and confidence? Is there some resentment you need to deal with? As you pray about these matters, be sure you don't forget the faith factor.

What issues are facing our church right now? Apply the faith factor. The REACH campaign to raise a million dollars. The fall schedule proposal. Starting new small groups. Growing the group you lead. Jesus invites us to talk to the Father. And as we talk, we do so with great faith. What is your level of faith? Do you want to tap into God's power? Then accept Christ's invitation to pray. And don't ever forget the faith factor.